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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Sigma Make Me Cool Aqua Kit

Hey guys, another post for you all today talking about Sigma. I know I'm probably the last person to jump on board of the Sigma train but I was just never really interested until their Thanksgiving/Black Friday sale came along and it was free shipping worldwide. I decided to purchase it since it meant 12-13 dollars off my order and if any of you knew about the sale, you would know what I mean when I said it was impossible trying to get onto the website the WHOLE day. The site was flooded and it was only in the 2nd last hour that I decided to try again and got through the checkout page. Alas, 2 weeks later my order arrived on my doorstep in a neat little box and I bounded through the door jumping up and down in excitement. Click on to read more about my favorites and not so favorites.

I know I announced that I got this ages ago but I've been giving the brushes a bit of a hard time, using them almost every day so I could get to see the real potential in them and if I liked them or not. First things first, the initial impression. The kit contains 12 brushes and a two containers to hold all your brushes in, great for travelling or someone who just needs a few cool looking brush holders on their make up desk. All of the eye brushes came with a plastic wrapping and most of the face brushes came with it too with the exception of one I think. I'm not sure why.. The four large face brushes all came with a plastic guard for the actual brush part, which is handy for reshaping after you've cleaned and dried them.

Click on the pictures to see a larger image

Eye Brushes:

E05 This is the fine tipped brush for applying eyeliner. It is an good brush, mine splayed a little bit after a few uses but reshaping it with the brush guard will make it apply better. I wish the bristles were a tad more firm and it would be the perfect eyeliner brush.

E30 The pencil brush, fine tipped, not too soft but not too hard, it works well for applying eyeshadow under the eyes and for deepening color in the crease line.

E40 Tapered blending brush, this brush works well, it is quite large though because my eyelid space is rather small, but it can still work well with a light hand. Holding the brush at the end will give a lighter blending effect so you don't spread the color out too far.

E55 Eyes shading brush, this one is one of my most reached for brushes as it is great for patting down eye shadows. Densely packed, the brush can be used in a patting or sweeping motion, it is on the larger side but not to the point where it is too big.

E60 Large shader brush, this brush is HUGE, much too big for my eyes, although I imagine it would work well as to apply color to the entire eyelid or for brow bones.

E65 Small angle brush, this is also one of my most reached for brushes in the collection as its very narrow, dense, thick and applies powder very well. I like to use this for lining both upper and lower lid. It also works well to smudge eyeshadow on the lower lid. Love this one.

E70 Medium angled shading brush, this is again a larger eye brush but I still like it as the shape is good for the crease area. Not reached for everyday but good for doing specific looks.

Face Brushes:

F30 the large powder brush is great for applying loose powder all over the face, it is super super soft and deposits powder evenly. The size of it allows for application quickly and easily. One of my favorite face brushes in this set.

F40 large angled contour brush, I have used this for contouring but I honestly like it more for highlighting and blush. It is a natural bristle brush that is intensely soft and I love love love it. I use this brush daily now.

F50 Duo Fibre brush, I have to say this is the one disappointing brush, I was expecting a lot because I love my MAC 187 and I was hoping it would be similar. In size, this duo fibre is a lot bigger than the 187 and in softness not so much softer. The most disappointing part is the picking up of product with this brush. It does not pick up powder well at all, I have to admit I haven't tried foundation with this brush yet but for picking up powder, it does a pretty crappy job. It loosens the powder in the pan but picks up hardly any of it. Sad, I hope they make a better version of this in the future.

F60 Foundation brush, this is a typical style foundation brush, it is quite large and all synthetic bristles I believe, I always think that synthetic bristles don't deposit foundation quite as well but this brush does the job. It is not the best as I prefer using the duo fibre but when I want a good coverage I like to use this one.

F70 the concealer brush looks like the small version of the foundation brush and is used for applying concealer to the face and under the eyes. It is a good brush that doesn't streak, I like this one and as a result have been reaching for it quite often.

Overall, the kit is quite good and I am not disappointed at all. This is my first purchase from Sigma so I wasn't expecting too much. I know that thousands of people have reviewed them but I don't like to be swayed so this is all of my own opinion. I will definitely repurchase other things from Sigma as they come out with new brushes. I hope this review helped some of you who are on the line about purchasing anything from Sigma. I know this kit is quite an "old" collection so there are newer products out but it is one of the more professional kits with an array of brushes that have multi-purposes so it is good for beginners who want to explore a bit more with make up.